GOP - Rand Paul's Presidential Highlight Reel w/ his Libertarian Twist

[Chef Ramsay]

Article in major right wing publication contrasting Rand Paul w/ the likes of Obama, Clinton and Biden.

Vacations and Vocations
As the president golfs the days away, Senator Paul puts his medical skills to use on behalf of others.

By Kevin D. Williamson

President Barack Obama is spending his vacation golfing on Martha’s Vineyard. Hillary Rodham Clinton is spending her vacation in the habitual Clintonian mode, making a vulgar spectacle of herself in the Hamptons. Joe Biden, not that anybody cares, is off to Grand Teton.

Senator Rand Paul, on the other hand, is spending his vacation in Guatemala, performing eye surgeries on poor children who need care. (Eliana Johnson wrote about the trip here.) As the Washington Post points out, this is not a new thing for the senator-surgeon; on this trip, he saw two patients he’d first treated 15 years ago.

For once, the Washingtonian term “optics” is entirely apt.

Senator Paul will come out of his vacation looking pretty good. Given the political class’s endless appetite for self-serving theater, I found myself wondering why President Obama, Mrs. Clinton, or Vice President Biden did not choose to spend their vacations in a similar way, offering to put their skills and abilities to use on behalf of others. And then I realized that this was a deeply stupid question on my part.

What the hell would they do?

...

More...http://www.nationalreview.com/article/386088/vacations-and-vocations-kevin-d-williamson

[Chef Ramsay]

MSNBC's Krystal Ball: Rand Paul is courageous, Hillary cowardly in addressing Ferguson events
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hihoj3lgB1k
short clip from one of yesterday's shows

[Chef Ramsay]

Rand Paul takes aim at "war hawk" Hillary Clinton - Fox News Special Report
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDgWXDiih9E
They also show a few consultants' views on things.

[Chef Ramsay]

Democratic National Committee response to Rand Paul’s foreign policy op-ed in WSJ

DNC Response to Rand Paul’s Troubling WSJ Op-Ed

This morning, Rand Paul ran an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal where he laid out his troubling foreign policy worldview.

Below please find a response from DNC National Press Secretary Michael Czin to Paul’s vision:

“It’s disappointing that Rand Paul, as a Senator and a potential presidential candidate, blames America for all the problems in the world, while offering reckless ideas that would only alienate us from the global community.

“Unfortunately, this is nothing new for Paul. Last week he criticized American policy to the president of another country on foreign soil. This week he’s blaming the Obama Administration for another nation’s civil war. That type of “blame America” rhetoric may win Paul accolades at a conference of isolationists but it does nothing to improve our standing in the world. In fact, Paul’s proposals would make America less safe and less secure.

“Simply put, if Rand Paul had a foreign policy slogan, it would be – The Rand Paul Doctrine: Blame America. Retreat from the World.”

http://factivists.democrats.org/dnc-response-to-rand-pauls-troubling-wsj-op-ed/

Gee, this sounds like it could've came from the desk of Dick Cheney. We're gonna see a lot more of this coming in the GOP primary and then afterwards if he's the nominee.

[beetcoin]

ron paul believes the U.S. should go after ISIS.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) raised eyebrows this weekend when he endorsed one of the most hawkish positions toward the Islamic State militants currently wreaking havoc in Iraq and Syria.

"If I were president, I would call a joint session of Congress," Paul told the AP. "I would lay out the reasoning of why ISIS is a threat to our national security and seek congressional authorization to destroy ISIS militarily."

That put the self-professed non-interventionist to the right of many of his fellow presidential hopefuls, who sounded more tentative notes when asked about the proper U.S. response. Seeking to "destroy ISIS militarily" would require some sort of ground presence in the region, and involve far greater American involvement in another Middle East conflict.

But during an interview on Sean Hannity's radio show on Wednesday, Paul sought to clarify that position. The libertarian-leaning senator said that Iran, Syria, and Turkey could be “enjoined” in fighting Islamic State militants because of their proximity and interest in the region.

“Right now, the two allies that have the same goal would be Iran and Syria, to wipe out ISIS. They also have the means and the ability and they also have the incentive to do so because Assad’s clinging for power and clinging for life there,” Paul said, as quoted by BuzzFeed.

The possible presidential contender also said that while the U.S. can provide air support, other nations should ultimately take the lead in rooting out Islamic State militants on the ground.

“So I also think that Turks really should be enjoined in this. And I do think that there can be a role for America. But I would rather see the president come to a joint session of Congress, [ask] for permission, and if he gets it, I still would like to see the ground troops and the battles being fought by those who live there. We can give both technological as well as air support. That could be the decisive factor in this," Paul said.

While President Barack Obama promised Wednesday to "degrade and destroy” the extremist group after they beheaded a second American journalist, he has held off on escalating U.S. airstrikes outside a small area of Iraq. It's unclear from Paul's remarks, however, whether he supports going after ISIS in its haven in Syria.

Paul's proposed path to intervention has complicated recent attacks he has levied against members of both parties, including a key contrast he has tried to make between himself and other prospective 2016 challengers. After he initially made the case against U.S. intervention in Iraq in June, Paul expressed "mixed feelings" about airstrikes later that month. He then followed up by criticizing "war hawks" like Hillary Clinton, only to advocate for war himself two days later.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/03/rand-paul-iraq_n_5762270.html

[Chef Ramsay]

He's merely saying as President he would call upon Congress to do what they're Constitutionally authorized to do: potentially declare war. That's exactly how Ron Paul would've handled any potential situation had he been President. However, there hasn't been a declared war since WWII. Ron said in the past that he supported a Constitutional declaration prior to going into Afghanistan but there was none. Furthermore, when not going to war against a country the proper Constitutional way to do it is to offer a Marque of Reprisal.

[Chef Ramsay]

Saving sight on my recent medical mission trip to Guatemala

I recently returned from a medical mission to Guatemala organized by the John Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah.

My first connection with Guatemala was in the 1990's.

I met the Hernandez brothers when they were kids. They were led into the examining room by their foster mother.  Though they were blind, both boys still worked together to bring water from the river for their family in a small village in Guatemala.

During the week over 200 patients, many of them blind with cataracts, had their vision restored.
I met them because of the humanitarian work of Bill and Judy Schwank. Bill was born in Guatemala and came to the U.S. to practice neurosurgery.  His wife, Judy, is an attorney and longtime advocate for adoption.

They brought Juan and Andres Hernandez to me in 1999 to see if I could restore any of their vision. Juan was 8 and Andres 14. 

On examination, I found that they had mature cataracts.  Juan could see hand motion and Andres light perception only.  I explained that the vision center in the brain must be stimulated before age of 7 or vision isn't possible-- even if the cataracts are removed. Our hope was that the cataracts were not mature at birth and that the boys had some vision at an early age.

I performed their cataract surgery in Bowling Green, Ky. The Schwanks raised and contributed the money necessary to bring the brothers to the United States.

I remember them well because the boys had never before seen running water and they somehow stopped the drain and left the water running-- a mini-disaster for the foster family.

More...http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/09/03/joy-and-praise-on-my-recent-medical-mission-trip-to-guatemala/

[Chef Ramsay]

If I had been in President Obama's shoes, I would have acted more decisively and strongly against ISIS
Rand Paul op-ed, "I'm not an Isolationist"

Some pundits are surprised that I support destroying the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) militarily. They shouldn’t be. I’ve said since I began public life that I am not an isolationist, nor am I an interventionist. I look at the world, and consider war, realistically and constitutionally.

I still see war as the last resort. But I agree with Reagan’s idea that no country should mistake U.S. reluctance for war for a lack of resolve.

As Commander-in-Chief, I would not allow our enemies to kill our citizens or our ambassadors. “Peace through Strength” only works if you have and show strength.

Our recent foreign policy has allowed radical jihadists to proliferate. Today, there are more terrorists groups than there were before 9/11, most notably ISIS. After all the sacrifice in Afghanistan and Iraq, why do we find ourselves in a more dangerous world?

And why, after six years, does President Obama lack a strategy to deal with threats like ISIS?

This administration’s dereliction of duty has both sins of action and inaction, which is what happens when you are flailing around wildly, without careful strategic thinking.

And while my predisposition is to less intervention, I do support intervention when our vital interests are threatened.

If I had been in President Obama’s shoes, I would have acted more decisively and strongly against ISIS. I would have called Congress back into session—even during recess.

This is what President Obama should have done. He should have been prepared with a strategic vision, a plan for victory and extricating ourselves. He should have asked for authorization for military action and would have, no doubt, received it.

Once we have decided that we have an enemy that requires destruction, we must have a comprehensive strategy—a realistic policy applying military power and skilful diplomacy to protect our national interests.

The immediate challenge is to define the national interest to determine the form of intervention we might pursue. I was repeatedly asked if I supported airstrikes. I do—if it makes sense as part of a larger strategy.

More...http://time.com/3268581/rand-paul-i-am-not-an-isolationist/

[beetcoin]

btw, there's also news of the ron paul scandal affecting rand.. i'm not quite sure how fair it is to label rand guilty by association, but that's the way it works i guess.

turns out ron paul was willing to "buy" endorsements, which to me, makes him the same as every other politician.

[TheButterZone]

btw, there's also news of the ron paul scandal affecting rand.. i'm not quite sure how fair it is to label rand guilty by association, but that's the way it works i guess.

turns out ron paul was willing to "buy" endorsements, which to me, makes him the same as every other politician.

Bribing election officials would.

[beetcoin]

btw, there's also news of the ron paul scandal affecting rand.. i'm not quite sure how fair it is to label rand guilty by association, but that's the way it works i guess.

turns out ron paul was willing to "buy" endorsements, which to me, makes him the same as every other politician.

Bribing election officials would.

the thing is, there is no evidence that rand bribed anyone - it was just his dad. i'm pretty sure rand would do the same though, but blaming him for what his dad did is not quite fair.

[hologram]

Cause here it's the rand paul thread:

http://time.com/3268581/rand-paul-i-am-not-an-isolationist/

[Chef Ramsay]

btw, there's also news of the ron paul scandal affecting rand.. i'm not quite sure how fair it is to label rand guilty by association, but that's the way it works i guess.

turns out ron paul was willing to "buy" endorsements, which to me, makes him the same as every other politician.

Ron Paul has been notorious for allowing trusted companions to do things in his name for a long time. That's where you had the alleged racist newsletters from back in the ~80's going out that he repudiated. Recently, Jesse Benton was his campaign manager and also married to one of Ron's grand-daughters and he's the culprit behind this endorsement buying w/ state senator Kent Sorenson. It is kind of sloppy on Ron's behalf to let others run his ship but when you've been the libertarian gadfly for the last 30 years in the swamp known as DC, you tend to keep trusted people by your side to keep up the morale cause it has to be lonely living all that time. Plus, he was creating a national libertarian persona by using the newsletters to raise money to stave off all the primary attacks by the political machine over the years at a time when there was no internet.

[Chef Ramsay]

Rand Paul tops Politico 50 list - "The Most Interesting Man in Politics"

#1 / Rand Paul

---------------------------------------------------------

Senator, Kentucky

THE MOST INTERESTING MAN IN POLITICS.


A civil liberties-loving peacenik with millennial appeal? Who’s willing to show up even at a midsummer NAACP convention to talk to a near-empty room? There’s no doubt Rand Paul is turning out to be a different kind of Republican, bringing libertarian—and contrarian—ideas to the national stage in a novel and calculated blurring of Washington’s otherwise rigid ideological battle lines.

Paul, the 51-year-old ophthalmologist son of libertarian gadfly Ron Paul, has made a concerted move from the political fringes over the past year; now he’s on a mission to remake his party, too. The GOP must “evolve, adapt or die” in the wake of two successive national defeats, the Kentucky senator insists. And, more than any other potential Republican presidential contender, he is taking his own advice. Paul’s ideas offer an utterly different Republican approach to questions of equity, education and fairness in America’s treatment of minorities, for instance—a post-partisan theme he has emphasized by teaming up with Cory Booker, the African-American former mayor of Newark turned freshman Democratic senator. Paul’s instinctive libertarianism, meanwhile, plays well with America’s pro-pot, pro-gay marriage younger generation, and the senator is aggressively wooing free-market millionaires for political support (and donations) in traditionally liberal Silicon Valley.

...

More...http://www.politico.com/magazine/politico50/2014/rand-paul-01.html#.VAj7LsJdXTq

Complete list...http://www.politico.com/magazine/politico50/2014/index.html

[Bit_Happy]

Rand Paul tops Politico 50 list - "The Most Interesting Man in Politics"

#1 / Rand Paul

---------------------------------------------------------

Senator, Kentucky

THE MOST INTERESTING MAN IN POLITICS.


A civil liberties-loving peacenik with millennial appeal? Who’s willing to show up even at a midsummer NAACP convention to talk to a near-empty room? There’s no doubt Rand Paul is turning out to be a different kind of Republican, bringing libertarian—and contrarian—ideas to the national stage in a novel and calculated blurring of Washington’s otherwise rigid ideological battle lines.

Paul, the 51-year-old ophthalmologist son of libertarian gadfly Ron Paul, has made a concerted move from the political fringes over the past year; now he’s on a mission to remake his party, too. The GOP must “evolve, adapt or die” in the wake of two successive national defeats, the Kentucky senator insists. And, more than any other potential Republican presidential contender, he is taking his own advice. Paul’s ideas offer an utterly different Republican approach to questions of equity, education and fairness in America’s treatment of minorities, for instance—a post-partisan theme he has emphasized by teaming up with Cory Booker, the African-American former mayor of Newark turned freshman Democratic senator. Paul’s instinctive libertarianism, meanwhile, plays well with America’s pro-pot, pro-gay marriage younger generation, and the senator is aggressively wooing free-market millionaires for political support (and donations) in traditionally liberal Silicon Valley.

...

More...http://www.politico.com/magazine/politico50/2014/rand-paul-01.html#.VAj7LsJdXTq

Complete list...http://www.politico.com/magazine/politico50/2014/index.html

Great article!
I've been ignoring the daily news and politics lately, but I'm excited to see Rand's fresh approach is gaining positive attention.

[Chef Ramsay]

Rand Paul Heading Back to New Hampshire (1st in the nation primary location)

Headed to New Hampshire Friday for a sold out event in Manchester, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said he’ll be making a decision about whether he’ll run for president by the spring next year.
“My wife and I are still talking about it, and we’ve agreed to continue talking about it, but I don’t think there will be a final decision made until the spring,” Paul said in a phone interview Monday evening.

"That’s about as specific as I can get, because I don’t know how convincing I can be with my wife. We have always sort of said we were going to wait until the spring, at least until after this election—and really, the more we’ve had time to think about it to see how things were going into spring. There’s a lot of different variables, not just family life but also whether or not we think the electorate is warming up to these ideas and ready for maybe a different kind of Republican—a Republican that keeps the core values and beliefs of what we stood for but also has issues and areas of where we can reach out to new people,” he added.

Paul's Manchester appearance is being billed as a unity event after the state’s primaries are over later tonight.

“It is sold out, and we’re in the process of trying to figure out if we can expand into another room,” New Hampshire GOP chairwoman Jennifer Horn told Breitbart News on Tuesday morning.

Horn said that Paul “gets a very good reception” whenever he’s in New Hampshire, one of the nation’s first presidential states.

“It’s part of our culture here,” Horn said. “Anyone who comes up here who’s even being talked about as a potential presidential candidate is always very well-received and we take very seriously the role that we play in that process. Everyone is well-received and given the opportunity to be heard. Sen. Paul is very warmly-received whenever he comes up here. He has a lot of friends in New Hampshire already and people are looking forward to having him back on Friday.”

Paul will be attending events with the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate, the candidate who wins today’s primary and gets set to face Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) in November. Horn and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) are expected to be at several of these events as well in an effort to unify the party after the primary. Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown is expected to edge out his challengers in the primary—Brown moved to New Hampshire after getting ousted from the U.S. Senate by Elizabeth Warren, and is running for the seat from there—but a last minute push poll from Jim Rubens’ campaign suggested he might have a chance.

“When I ran for re-election, I had a pretty bitterly contested primary but one of the things they ask us to do and some of this was at Sen. McConnell’s behest was to come together at a unity rally four days after the election,” Paul said. “I agreed in my primary, because I think what we represent as Republicans—we have some differences of opinion—but what separates us from the Democrats is a great deal and I think it makes a big difference to the country who runs the Senate and who sets the agenda. I’ve always been a big believer in supporting the Party’s nominee. I agreed when I ran for election that I’d support the nominee, and I’ve done several of these unity rallies—we’ve been asked to do others in several other states as well.”

...

More...http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/09/09/Rand-Paul-To-NH-Will-Make-WH-Decision-By-Spring

[Chef Ramsay]

[Video] Rand Paul speaks out against police militarization at senate hearing 9/9/14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9WnztevfbI
7 mins

[Bit_Happy]

Rand Paul Heading Back to New Hampshire (1st in the nation primary location)

Headed to New Hampshire Friday for a sold out event in Manchester, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said he’ll be making a decision about whether he’ll run for president by the spring next year.
“My wife and I are still talking about it, and we’ve agreed to continue talking about it, but I don’t think there will be a final decision made until the spring,” Paul said in a phone interview Monday evening.

"That’s about as specific as I can get, because I don’t know how convincing I can be with my wife. We have always sort of said we were going to wait until the spring, at least until after this election—and really, the more we’ve had time to think about it to see how things were going into spring. There’s a lot of different variables, not just family life but also whether or not we think the electorate is warming up to these ideas and ready for maybe a different kind of Republican—a Republican that keeps the core values and beliefs of what we stood for but also has issues and areas of where we can reach out to new people,” he added.

Paul's Manchester appearance is being billed as a unity event after the state’s primaries are over later tonight.

“It is sold out, and we’re in the process of trying to figure out if we can expand into another room,” New Hampshire GOP chairwoman Jennifer Horn told Breitbart News on Tuesday morning.

Horn said that Paul “gets a very good reception” whenever he’s in New Hampshire, one of the nation’s first presidential states.

“It’s part of our culture here,” Horn said. “Anyone who comes up here who’s even being talked about as a potential presidential candidate is always very well-received and we take very seriously the role that we play in that process. Everyone is well-received and given the opportunity to be heard. Sen. Paul is very warmly-received whenever he comes up here. He has a lot of friends in New Hampshire already and people are looking forward to having him back on Friday.”

Paul will be attending events with the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate, the candidate who wins today’s primary and gets set to face Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) in November. Horn and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) are expected to be at several of these events as well in an effort to unify the party after the primary. Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown is expected to edge out his challengers in the primary—Brown moved to New Hampshire after getting ousted from the U.S. Senate by Elizabeth Warren, and is running for the seat from there—but a last minute push poll from Jim Rubens’ campaign suggested he might have a chance.

“When I ran for re-election, I had a pretty bitterly contested primary but one of the things they ask us to do and some of this was at Sen. McConnell’s behest was to come together at a unity rally four days after the election,” Paul said. “I agreed in my primary, because I think what we represent as Republicans—we have some differences of opinion—but what separates us from the Democrats is a great deal and I think it makes a big difference to the country who runs the Senate and who sets the agenda. I’ve always been a big believer in supporting the Party’s nominee. I agreed when I ran for election that I’d support the nominee, and I’ve done several of these unity rallies—we’ve been asked to do others in several other states as well.”

...

More...http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/09/09/Rand-Paul-To-NH-Will-Make-WH-Decision-By-Spring

...When I ran for re-election, I had a pretty bitterly contested primary...
^^^
Either that is a misquote or Rand needs to catch up on his sleep, because he has never had to run for re-election yet.

[bryant.coleman]

For the past several months, I was not following the GOP nomination for POTUS 2016. But I was quite disappointed when I saw the latest polls. A poll by McClatchy/Marist has Rand Paul in the 7th place, well behind Chris Christie and Jeb Bush. Quite worrying... I have to say. The establishment republicans are trying hard to sideline Paul. He will have to fight really hard. 

[Bit_Happy]

For the past several months, I was not following the GOP nomination for POTUS 2016. But I was quite disappointed when I saw the latest polls. A poll by McClatchy/Marist has Rand Paul in the 7th place, well behind Chris Christie and Jeb Bush. Quite worrying... I have to say. The establishment republicans are trying hard to sideline Paul. He will have to fight really hard.  

It is very early for polls, even the "good ones."
You are correct that Rand faces a really tough road, but it will be an amazing fight.